This invention relates generally to ferroelectric polymer memories.
A ferroelectric polymer memory may be used to store data. Data may be stored in layers within the memory. The higher the number of layers, the higher is the capacity of the memory. Each of the polymer layers include polymer chains with dipole moments. Data may be stored by changing the polarization of the polymer between metal lines. No transistors are needed for storage.
As a result, ferroelectric polymer memories are non-volatile memories with relatively fast read and write speeds. For example, microsecond initial reads may be possible with write speeds comparable to those of flash memories.
Generally, in polymer memories, the same material is used for the interlayer dielectric between the various polymer layers and for passivation layers. This results in a relatively thick film to avoid ferroelectric coupling. Moreover, the presence of fluorine in these materials introduces outgasing and degrades reliability. Another approach is to use photoresist, but this material is not stable for long-term operation of devices and it is a reliability liability.
Thus, there is a need for better ways to separate the layers in multiple layer, stacked polymer memories.